“Mr Bich” said on Facebook his real name was “Joe Carr” (or perhaps joker). He said what had started as a joke between friends “became a prank that made a fool out of the media”. But he said it also brought out the best in people and gave encouragement to people with “truly interesting and idiosyncratic names”.

The prankster went on to lecture Facebook about its legitimacy and say that his “ordeal” taught him “not to trust the credibility of the media.”